Eugene, Oregon, with its cool and temperate climate and hundreds of miles of running trails is known as Track Town USA. The birthplace of Nike shoes and one-time home to Steve Prefontaine, the city played host to the 1972, 1976, 1980, and 2008 US Olympic track and field trials.

The trials return this week, and along with them come nearly a thousand Olympic hopefuls. Here is the Guardian's list of athletes to watch as they vie for a spot on Team USA, bound for London next month.

Allyson Felix

A pro runner since the age of 17, Felix skipped her high school prom because she was busy training. Now a two-time Olympian at 26, Felix first ran in the 2004 Athens games at just 18. She arrives in Eugene with three medals to her name. Felix won silver in the 200 both in 2004 in Athens and in 2008 in Beijing. She also won gold in 2008 as a member of the US 4 x 400 relay team. Her momentum has hardly slackened. Felix won four medals at last year's World Championships in Daegu: gold in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays, silver in the 400 and bronze in the 200.

Bryan Clay

The all-around competitor claimed the unofficial title of "World's Greatest Athlete" in 2008 by winning gold in the Beijing decathlon. Clay, 32, who also won silver in the event in Athens, is attempting to become the first decathlete to ever win three Olympic medals.

Carmelita Jeter

With a hamstring injury that kept her off the track for much of her mid-20s, Jeter didn't arrive on the international scene until 2007, at the ripe-old age of 27. Now 32, she is attempting to qualify for the Olympics for the second time: she failed to make the 2008 Olympic team but won gold in the 100 at the 2007 and 2009 World Athletics Finals. 2011 was a breakout year for Jeter: she won gold in the 100 and 4 x 100 relay at the World Championships and adding a silver medal in the 200. Jeter will be a favorite in the 100 at the Olympic trials, but has yet to decide whether she's also going to go for the 200.

Jesse Williams

High jumper Jesse Williams competed in Beijing but finished a disappointing 19th in the qualifying round. By the end of 2008, though, he had fought his way back, rising to number six in the world rankings. In 2010 he won the high jump at both the USA Outdoor and USA Indoor Championships and finished the year as the world's second-ranked high jumper. Last year he won gold at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

LaShawn Merritt

A controversial figure in the world of running, Merritt exploded onto the world scene with gold medals in both the 400 meters and 4×400 meter relay in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Then he failed three drug tests in 2010. Banned from the track for two years, Merritt hopes the trials will provide a shot at redemption. It's not impossible: at the June 3 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Merritt won the 400 meter race with a time of 44.91.

Lolo Jones

The hurdler from Iowa is perhaps best known for her Twitter enthusiasm and the surprising fact that she is candid about still being virgin at 29. Jones is a world-class hurdler who delivered a disappointing performance in Beijing in 2008. The favorite going into the 100 meter hurdle race, Jones tripped and finished seventh. Prior to that, she had won back-to-back gold medals in the 60-meter hurdles at the 2008 and 2010 World Indoor Championships. After a difficult 2011, she's won indoor races in New York, Moscow, and Lienz this year.

Lopez Lomong

Born in South Sudan, Lomong is a symbol of both the American dream and international bridge-building. Lomong moved to the US at the age of 16 as one of his native country's Lost Boys. His running career has itself been a sprint since 2008, when he qualified for the Olympics in the 1500 meter race. He was the flag bearer for the US in Beijing, but was eventually eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500. He's back this year, boasting a new personal best of 3:32:20 in the 1500m and a stride likely to take him back to the Olympics.

Tyson Gay

Nursing a hamstring injury in Beijing, Gay failed to qualify for the finals in either the 100 meters or the 4×100 meter relay. It was a tremendous disappointment: Gay's personal best time of 9.69 seconds in the 100 meter race – which he clocked at the 2008 Olympic trials – is the current US record, and second in the world only to his Jamaican rival Usain Bolt. Things are looking good for Gay, who had been bedevilled by injuries last year. He ran the 100 in 10 seconds flat, into a headwind, at the recent Adidas Grand Prix.

Walter Dix

A bronze medalist in both the 100 and 200 meter races in Beijing, Dix was outrun by Bolt of Jamaica and Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago in the 100. He also set a personal record in the process, one that he has since improved to 9.88. He took bronze in the 200, though, only because two other athletes were disqualified. Look for Dix, now 26, to make some noise in Eugene this week.

Alysia Montaño

Four years ago, she left Eugene in a wheel chair. This year the middle distance runner hopes to leave with a ticket to London. Montaño, 26, broke her right foot during 2008 trials, hobbling her for the rest of that season. She took the next year off, hired a new coach and got married. The detour paid off: Montaño ranked number three globally in 2010. In her season debut three weeks ago – on this very track in Eugene – she ran a meet-record time of 1:57.37. Look for her with the distinctive flower she wears in her hair – a symbol of femininity she adopted while training with men.

We will have extensive coverage of the USA Track & Field Trials over the next ten days as a prelude to the London 2012 Games in July and August.

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